Zhang Yingxue never expected that Su Yuanyuan would suddenly have the thought of leaving. Moreover, her scared look was rather puzzling.
"Yuanbao, what's wrong with you? Why do you suddenly want to go back all of a sudden?" Zhang Yingxue asked in a hushed tone.
The Prince of Xuan was also utterly confused. "Why is Miss Su leaving so soon? We've just agreed to explore the qin melodies and musical rhythms together..."
At this moment, noticing that Su Yuanyuan looked scared and hesitated to step forward, the Prince of Huai maliciously raised his voice and said,
"Why are you too scared to come closer, little fool? Weren't you so proud when you beat Miss Qiu Han at the Piaoxiang Winery last time?"
The qin melody in the room had stopped at some point. Miss Qiu Han also saw Su Yuanyuan, who was brought into the room by the Prince of Xuan.
She still remembered that she had lost to a little girl who had never played the qin at the Piaoxiang Winery last time. Deep down, she was still a bit reluctant to admit defeat.
Getting up and walking out from behind the curtain, Miss Qiu Han bowed gracefully towards Su Yuanyuan and said with a smile,
"Miss Su, I didn't expect to meet you again. We parted in a hurry last time, and I didn't have the chance to have a good chat with you. Today, we must have a good discussion about the art of playing the qin and have a few more rounds of competition. What do you think?"
Su Yuanyuan looked at the Prince of Huai and then at Miss Qiu Han. She shrank back behind Zhang Yingxue and whispered, "Didn't His Highness the Prince of Xuan invite me here to drink and explore the qin melodies and musical rhythms with me?"
Zhang Yingxue was very smart and immediately understood what Su Yuanyuan meant.
Yes, didn't the Prince of Xuan invite them here to listen to the qin music just now? Why were there so many other people in the room?
Especially the Prince of Huai and the Prince of Jin, who both looked like they had ill intentions.
Moreover, why did Miss Qiu Han from the Shanle Music Workshop say that she wanted to compete with Yuanbao in playing the qin?
The Prince of Xuan was stumped by Su Yuanyuan's question. He opened his mouth and said, "This king... This king... Miss Su, I'm sorry. I was afraid that you would refuse if I told you the truth just now."
This meant that he had indeed deliberately concealed the fact that there were other people in the room.
Zhang Yingxue was originally curious as to why Su Yuanyuan suddenly wanted to leave. However, seeing the current situation, how could she not understand?
Fine! They said they were invited here to listen to the qin music, but in fact, they were just planning to make things difficult for little Yuanbao!
Since everyone outside was saying that little Yuanbao was a stupid girl who knew nothing, these people wanted to take advantage of their status to make fun of little Yuanbao.
They were proper official's daughters after all. Little Yuanbao was even the daughter of a duke. What did these people take them for?
The singing girls in the music workshop who could be summoned at will?
Or the servants in the mansion who could be ordered around casually?
Zhang Yingxue was extremely angry, and her desire to protect was immediately ignited.
Little Yuanbao was invited by her to the Zhenxuan Restaurant. She couldn't let Yuanbao be bullied in the Zhenxuan Restaurant!
Even if the other party was a prince!
Reaching back to hold Su Yuanyuan's soft little hand, Zhang Yingxue ignored the ill - intentioned Prince of Huai and the gloomy - faced Prince of Jin, and said to the Prince of Xuan,
"Your Highness didn't mention that there were other people in the room when you invited us just now, and they were all men. You know that men and women should avoid physical contact. We are still unmarried. If we step into this room, we don't know what kind of rumors will spread."
"For the sake of our reputations, please forgive us for leaving first, I and my sister Yuanbao. Another day, when Your Highness is alone, we will enjoy the qin music with Your Highness."
After saying that, she took Su Yuanyuan's hand and was about to leave with her.
"Stop!" The imposing voice of Xiao Zisheng came from behind. "Did this king allow you to leave?"
Seeing Su Yuanyuan tremble because of the Prince of Jin's words, Zhang Yingxue was even more convinced that the Prince of Xuan and the others had ill intentions.
If they didn't run now, when would they?
Gritting her teeth and risking being punished, Zhang Yingxue grabbed Su Yuanyuan and ran away.
Xiao Zisheng was almost mad with anger.
When the Prince of Xuan went to invite the girls, there had always been a trace of expectation hidden in his heart, a feeling he himself hadn't even noticed. So when the Prince of Xuan pushed open the door and led two young girls in, he was so nervous that he almost stopped breathing.
He saw the charming and beautiful young girl bending her bright eyes and smiling as she talked to his fourth brother. He also saw the faint dimple at the corner of her lips and her fair, delicate cheeks like mutton - fat jade.
She was completely different from the girl he had met at the Zhenxuan Restaurant last time.
At that time, she had looked a bit dull, like a jade statue that had lost its soul. Now, she was lively and full of spirit. Even her hair seemed to be full of life.
Although they had only met once and had never had any interaction, Xiao Zisheng instinctively felt that this was how she should smile.
Perhaps his gaze was too intense. The young girl finally noticed something and looked up at him.
Would she also give him such a sweet smile?
Xiao Zisheng tightly grasped the armrests of the chair. The force was so great that the knuckles of his hands turned white. He could even hear his heart beating violently.
However, the moment the young girl saw him, the excitement in her eyes disappeared without a trace, and the upturned corners of her lips immediately fell back to their original position.
Then, she showed a look of extreme fear.
Was she afraid of him?
Why?
He had planned to ask her properly after she came over, but unexpectedly, Zhang Yingxue was pulling her away!
Eager to keep the girl, Xiao Zisheng instinctively shouted out the words.
But he didn't expect that after he said this, the two of them ran away even faster.
Xiao Zisheng's attitude made the Prince of Huai even more convinced that Xiao Zisheng was on his side. He immediately said to his guard,
"What are you standing there for? Go and 'invite' those two little girls back for this king!"
The guard took the order and was about to rush out of the door to catch them.
The Prince of Xuan's face darkened. He spread out his hands to block the guard of the Prince of Huai and blocked the door. He said angrily,
"Second and third brothers, what are you doing? We agreed not to make things difficult for Miss Su. Why do you both react like this when she comes? If this gets out, people will say that we are bullying a little girl. What will happen to our reputations?"
Because of the Prince of Xuan's obstruction, Xiao Zisheng could only watch as the sound of footsteps gradually faded away. Finally, enduring the pain in his legs, he got up and pushed the Prince of Xuan away, then chased after them himself.
By the time Xiao Zisheng, with his painfully swollen legs, chased to the wooden stairs, there was no sign of Su Yuanyuan and Zhang Yingxue in sight.
He wanted to chase downstairs, but because he had chased too eagerly just now, his legs could hardly support his body. If he hadn't grabbed the handrail in time, he might have fallen head - first.
Looking at the empty stairs, Xiao Zisheng punched the wall post hard with his clenched fist, making a loud noise.
He hated himself for being a cripple! He couldn't even catch up with a little girl!